Saturday, September 10, 2005

Hi There all you Pattern Junkies............Now that the world champs are over I'm sure we are all looking forward to see what ideas our team have come back with.....You will be able to see them & chat about it at 'The Great 2005 Limpopo Aerobatic Championships that will be held on 1 & 2 OCTOBER 2005

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Here is a reminder to the regular and long time visitors to Scale and to all who have not been here before please note.

For those interested in Old Timers, there is the Old Timer event to be held at Cango Flying Club Field, from 8-00 am to 12-00 am every morning from the 22nd to 24th. Flyers compete for the Best Old Timers Trophy ,donated by the late Keith Bowles. Please remember to come and register at the TX tent.

Then on Friday evening 23rd, after the cheese and wine The indoor electric event takes place. There is the Trophy for the best indoor Electric Flyer that we also had last year. This year we are having two extra indoor events something like Touch 'n goes and Balloon bursting etc. where the flyers compete for the New trophy for the indoor events winner, donated by Le Roux Engineering.

For those who only want to fly at the indoor event the fee is R20-00. This includes admittance to the Cheese & Wine

So please bring along your indoor electric models as well. These need not be Scale models. This event is very popular and lots of fun for competitors and the just spectators love it.

At the same venue those interested in rubber powered models will have a chance to show what their models can do.

The Oudtshoorn Aero Club again offers Camping at the Airport. Bring your tent etc. and go camping for only R15-00 per night per person. Toilets, Showers etc. available.

One last reminder. we need your SAMAA membership number on the entry form. Those who have entry forms please remember to fill this in on the form, others can complete the entry forms at the TX tent on arrival.

Monday, September 05, 2005

We set off from Jozi just after six as the sun rose. We had packed three aircraft in the car. We took the motorway and joined the R59. South of Vereeniging the early morning inversion had clamped the industrial smog onto the ground.

It took three hours to get to Bethlehem. We had breakfast at BJ's Diner. We can recommend BJ's - excellent breakfast. Then we headed for Rosendal and the slope, or so we thought.

Somehow we missed the final turn-off. We ended up a few Ks further on where the road petered out onto a farm track. The track looked innocent enough, but after fifty metres a stone had broken our sump.

Modern cars are such that if the engine is not running, the car is dead.

No oil, no engine, dead car. From where we were we could see in the distance the trees behind the slope site.

I thought I would try to phone Hugh Edmunds. I wasn't sure what he could do but the situation called for desperate measures. Hugh thought that it might be possible to fix the sump with white epoxy: A true aeromodeller's solution. He immediately left for Rosendal for oil and epoxy.

In the meantime, the professor had managed to get hold of Renault Roadside Assistance. Gunter of RRA undertook to arrange for a tow-truck to collect us. Shortly after, Bennie from Gary's towing in Bethlehem phoned. He would send a truck. He would organise a hired car. Was there anything else we needed?

I phoned Hugh again to tell him what had happened. By that time he was in Rosendal. Within twenty minutes he appeared in a cloud of dust accompanied by a colleague on a quad. After checking that we were OK, wisely, he returned to the slope. His last words were, "let me know if you need anything more", and "give me a shout when you get back to civilization".

An hour and a half later the truck arrived. We loaded the car and piled in. I phoned Hugh to let him know that we were on our way.

Deeter the driver was of a garrulous persuasion. The professor was sitting in the middle so she bore the brunt of his soliloquy. I was on the outside and pretended not to hear. His speech was liberally sprinkled with the rhetorical "And you know what".

One of his stories concerned an elderly couple he had shown around Golden Gate. "And you know what. They were so happy with the tour that they gave me ten rands". Point taken.

The tow-truck had seen better days. The springs were rigid. There were many ventilation holes in the cab that let in blasts of hot air and dust. At certain speeds the engine made a distinctive staccato noise. All in all it was very much better than walking.

Bennie was waiting for us in Bethlehem. He had organised the hired car and stayed at work through the long Saturday afternoon to look after us. We said goodbye to him and headed back to Jozi.

Back home at about eight at night we took stock: We had traveled six hundred kilometers, broken the car and not flown. Something of a disappointment.

Thanks to the following, in alphabetical order:Bennie and Deeter of Gary's Towing in BethlehemGunter of Renault Roadside AssistanceHugh Edmunds and his colleagueMarisa of Budget Rent-a-Car in BethlehemVodacom (where would we be without cell phones).

Sunday, September 04, 2005

With Craig Goodrum's detailed Round by Round report already circulated, there is very little to add. All matters concerning the actual competition and some technical aspects have been addressed by Craig. As Team Manager elect, I have been with the team from the beginning in Feb 2005, in a mostly organizing and coordinating role and attempting to instill a cohesive team spirit and trying to keep negative influences away from pilots - allowing them to focus on their flying.

There are certain observations and thoughts I wish to share with anyone interested in this sport - particularly concerning competitiveness.

After many a talk with knowledgeable people, it became very clear that a good F3B campaign can only succeed, not only with good pilots (which we certainly have) and suitable helpers (which we selected) but most importantly with solid and timeous funding, which we were fortunate enough to also have had.

Good equipment (models, gadgets, electronics etc.) were acquired and practice commenced with great enthusiasm and evident commitment by everybody concerned. Performances steadily improved. After 6 month of dedicated training we reached a consistent level which we thought would qualify us to reach for the top.

Apart from some logistical problems with Air tickets, Visas and Aeroplane transport boxes, all preparations went smoothly and a well prepared Team left for Finland with great expectations and justified hopes.

So what went wrong?

* In my opinion, we certainly underestimated the extremely high level of performance of the better European Teams respectively the advances they made over the last few years. In this regard, one needs to recognize the fact that in Europe there are in excess of 25 top notch F3B contests, every year including the F3B Euro Contest Series covering several countries. In South Africa we have 4 events, by comparison, some of them of an inadequate standard.The conclusion from this is obvious - we need to practice and practice and practice - in fact, we need to begin our next effort NOW.

More time and also money needs to be spent on dedicated F3B contests in SA. It is in competition where skills are honed and brought to peak level!

* Last minute changes of team members and their functions put extra stress on the minds of our pilots. Anton could not travel, young James Shaw was brought on board, and Anton's function was transferred to Craig Baker.

Derek Wiggill developed a serious thrombosis ( I told him he should reduce his Globetrotting!) and informed us on the day of departure that his doctor would not allow him to board yet another Airliner, at least until Sunday 31st July, the day before the contest started. On that very Sunday he informed us that on Monday he had to be in Hospital where 2 lumps would be surgically removed from his leg.

Consequently, the day before the start, more mental stress was put on our pilots who now had to split Derek's functions between themselves.

Our helpers Craig Baker, Ian Lessem and James Shaw did a superb job during the last 2 practice days, and had winches, lines, batteries, chargers etc. 100 % under control. We were ready to do battle.

Despite all the unexpected problems, the Championships started well for our team with Craig Goodrum having an excellent first round.

* During the morning of day 2, bad luck struck again, with Craig Baker falling ill-unable to carry out his assigned jobs. After a disastrous morning things were hastily rearranged. Craig Baker had to have medical attention and eventually, after day 3, had to be taken to hospital. All of us were of course very concerned and worried about Craig.

No doubt at all this rocked our ship considerably, putting more stress on Michelle, Craig G. and Dion. As a consequence, it appeared to me that focus and also momentum was lost for while. Only during day 4 did matters again begin to improve - alas, too late !

All in all, although we did not achieve what we set out to do, the team conducted themselves superbly under very often extremely trying circumstances. No flying tempers, no need for Fire Extinguishers - disciplined and determined - indeed commendable !

In conclusion, I wish to thank our Pilots and Helpers for their unwavering enthusiasm .Being with them made it, after all, worthwhile.

A special Thank You to Shirley Goodrum who looked after" Pea Nuts" so well and kept him in good shape throughout the time in Finland - a great help, really appreciated!

To Craig Baker all our best wishes for a speedy recovery and a chance to be there again in 2 years time.

Finally the South African TEAM wishes to thank all our sponsors form their valued support:

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